Morning,
The golden sun shone on the foggy, snowy hills.
From the horizon, a few rays also dawned on the ruined Einzbern Castle.
Not only the grand structure, but the hill, on top of which it had stood for centuries, had also lost half of its body last night.
Black walked across the garden in the Castle's courtyard, taking a measure of the damage.
Next to him, Sakura Matou followed his footsteps, holding the golden cruciform on her chest with a frown on her face.
Medea and the two homunculus maids, Sella and Leysritt, were rebuilding the Castle.
It had taken the Caster the entire last night to reestablish the Bounded Layers, focusing on pure defense this time, instead of a Heroic Spirit-trapping array.
However, the destroyed castle wasn't an easy task to deal with.
The entire structure was a grandiose display of magic, with its every stone holding magic circles and spells that fueled the Castle's innate defenses.
Even if Medea could cast spells instantly using her High-Speed Divine Words, she couldn't replicate overnight what Einzberns had done across decades.
Suddenly, a purple blur tore through the Castle's defenses and landed in front of Black and Sakura.
It was Rider.
The moment she appeared, she kneeled. "… Forgive me, Master," she apologized. "I've failed you once again. I… lost that thing…"
Sakura looked at Rider and let out a breath. "Forget it," she said, bringing a smile to her face. "And just call me Sakura, like you usually do."
Those words made Rider grind her teeth even more.
"… I am going out," Medusa declared, her eyes holding a magical tinge behind her eye mask. "One way or another, I will hunt that creature down."
"No… Wait…"
But Sakura's words landed on empty ground, as Rider had already disappeared.
"It's my fault," Sakura mumbled. "I shouldn't have acted like that last night…"
Medea appeared next to them, then, wearing a white, sleeveless t-shirt over blue jeans, with round glasses resting in front of her eyes. Her dark blue hair flailed as if it possessed life of its own as she walked next to Black and eyed the girl.
"It has become your nature, I guess," Medea remarked, her face holding a small smile. "To purge the Evil whenever you sense it nearby… But to go after it without a care for your own life? That wasn't something any of us could have expected."
Sakura put her head down even more, blushing.
Just as the attack had obliterated the Bounded Fields and the Castle, Sakura had gone after the attacker with a single mind to purge the evil.
The feeling had come from the depths of her heart.
"… It wasn't just evil," Sakura said, disgust flashing across her face. "People have good and evil in them. That doesn't make them a saint or demon. But that thing… it repulsed me…"
Black and Medea exchanged glances, raising their brows.
"And what were you planning on doing if you'd caught up to it?" Medea asked with a mocking tone.
Black noticed the blush on Sakura's face gaining a redder tinge. "Alright," he said. "Let's forget it. Sakura, do you know that Assassin came here yesterday to take you away?"
Medea's eyes narrowed. Why's he telling her that?!
After the attack last night, Assassin had run away.
It was a miracle that the attacker and Assassin didn't join hands to come after them. Even with her and Rider present in the Einzbern Castle, Medea wasn't sure she could have handled the two without Berserker's assistance.
Sakura, hearing Black's words, snapped her head up. "Assassin?! Came to take me?"
Black nodded. "Shirou and Rin are in an alliance," he told her. "So, it's possible that Shirou asked Rin to send Assassin and assassinate me and take you away."
Sakura gasped. "No… He wouldn't do that…"
"I want to believe that, too," Black smiled. "To confirm my suspicions, I trapped Assassin in layers of Bounded Field. However, before I could conclude, we were attacked, and Assassin escaped."
This time, Medea gasped, but didn't display it on her face. How shrewd?!
She had known that Black was a master manipulator. Perhaps, he had used these manipulations to get her on his side, too. But the more she came to know him, the more she began falling in love with this trait of his. Because… he hadn't lied.
Sakura paused, her hand gripping the cruciform shaking. "No… You don't mean to say that … that… that evil thing is with Shirou and Rin, do you?!"
Black frowned. "Of course, not," he said. "But — as two Masters in alliance — we should question the timing of such a coincidence, at least, don't you think?"
Sakura's pupils shook. She remembered Shirou and Rin. Then, the repulsive feeling of pure evil from last night barged in, making her hold her head.
"I… I am going to think over it…" she said.
"How about a nice bath?" Black suggested, calling Sella.
Sakura took the suggestion with a smile and went away with the maid, lost in her thoughts.
Behind them, in the courtyard with half-destroyed flowers, and the other half in full bloom, Medea stared at Black as he held his chin.
"… When did you start manipulating me?" she asked, bringing a faux chill in her voice.
Black put his calculations away and smiled at Medea. "I didn't…"
"Don't lie." Purple, magical fluctuations bent the space around Caster.
"Haha!" Black laughed. "Why would I lie? I never manipulated you. You know, why? Because I didn't need to. You fell right into my trap — yourself. And… you liked it."
Medea looked at a laughing Black with an open mouth, so stunned that she even forgot what she was about to say.
All she could do at this moment was to acknowledge the fact —
— A true Manipulator did not manipulate others for his benefit, but he made others believe it was their idea, to begin with.
On the other side, Black bowed as if he acknowledged Medea's thoughts — a dull gray notification flashing across his eyes.
…
[
Congratulations Contestant Kai D. Stormborn
You have gained an Ability
…
Master Manipulator: Proficiency 15%
]
…
Sighing, Medea finally put away her shock, anger, and admiration and looked at Black, a grave expression settling on her face.
"Enough with your pretentious calm, then," she said. "Now, can you tell me what's truly going on?!"
*****************
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